The Brown Knight wrote:I don't agree with Blob's assessment on Burrows at all.

Burrows hasn't been scoring, but he's been getting tons of good scoring opportunities. Simply put - he's just snake-bit right now. Let's see where he's at in 4-6 weeks. For right now however, it's just a bad slump.

Despite that however, Burrows' two-way game is still excellent. He brings so much more to the table than a Kassian or a Booth does.

My line of thought: Lets give Burrows some time to work his way out of the slump. The fact that he consistently gets grade A scoring chances game-in game-out, is an indication to me that he'll break out of his slump sooner than later (along with the fact that he's already playing a solid two-way game).

You're absolutely right about Burrows, he hasn't been scoring, and he has been getting chances and playing good defensive hockey. So why not put him on the third line with Hansen and Richards and tell them to shut the other guys down, Burrows will find his touch again in that role. It's where he started, and it's where he learned to find the net off of turnovers.

Why not put a guy who has shown that he is capable of scoring (Kassian) in a place where maybe he will do just that. The team has desperately needed goals of late, Ottawa and Carolina excepted, and Kassian has produced offensively when put in that role.

It's not saying he shouldn't earn anything, but it is saying play to both the player, and the team's strengths, not weaknesses.

Meds wrote:Why not put a guy who has shown that he is capable of scoring (Kassian) in a place where maybe he will do just that. The team has desperately needed goals of late, Ottawa and Carolina excepted, and Kassian has produced offensively when put in that role.

It's not saying he shouldn't earn anything, but it is saying play to both the player, and the team's strengths, not weaknesses.

I mean, you could do that with Kassian..........but I don't like the idea of him being 'gifted' that spot when it's abundantly clear that his attitude and work ethic need significant improvement. I'd like to see him become a more well rounded player and play with more enthusiasm on the bottom 6, BEFORE earning the right to move up.

The Canucks should take a long term approach with all young players, and that includes Kassian. "Gifting" him a Top 6 might be great short term, but it could also foster an "entitlement" mentality on his part.........which could then create a prima-donna attitude. We saw what ultimately happened to Todd Bertuzzi 9 years ago.

Building and fostering players with great character and leadership is more important than short-term gratification.

Kassian deserved to have a day off more than Booth and Hansen deserved similar treatment.

The kid has all the tools. If he starts moving his god damn feet rather than watching the puck and taking the puck to the net rather than looking for the pass 99% of the time then he'd be a drastically improved player.

Meds wrote:Why not put a guy who has shown that he is capable of scoring (Kassian) in a place where maybe he will do just that. The team has desperately needed goals of late, Ottawa and Carolina excepted, and Kassian has produced offensively when put in that role.

It's not saying he shouldn't earn anything, but it is saying play to both the player, and the team's strengths, not weaknesses.

I mean, you could do that with Kassian..........but I don't like the idea of him being 'gifted' that spot when it's abundantly clear that his attitude and work ethic need significant improvement. I'd like to see him become a more well rounded player and play with more enthusiasm on the bottom 6, BEFORE earning the right to move up.

The Canucks should take a long term approach with all young players, and that includes Kassian. "Gifting" him a Top 6 might be great short term, but it could also foster an "entitlement" mentality on his part.........which could then create a prima-donna attitude. We saw what ultimately happened to Todd Bertuzzi 9 years ago.

Building and fostering players with great character and leadership is more important than short-term gratification.

I don't think he should be "gifted" the spot, at least not permanently. Just slotted in there and told he has to keep it now. I don't think it is a lack of enthusiasm that we see from him in the bottom six. He has be absolutely shit defensively, but not for lack of effort, I think it is a lack of focus and that he naturally think offense first. But again, if a guy is so bad at it, why put him that position? When he does have the puck I see him protecting it and trying to gain the offensive zone. When he does he is often being hounded by a player or two and he looks to setup a line mate. Unfortunately most of this team has been Sedinerized and everyone plays along the wall to support the short cycle and passing game that the top teams have learned to shutdown. It's the reason why so many of Kassian's passes become turnovers, and I'll be honest, I don't mind it at all. I would rather watch this team try and create scoring chances versus seeing the puck get thrown around the boards for 2 minutes and nothing get to the net. What Kassian needs to figure out is that when he is the guy on the line that is the best option for carrying the puck without getting knocked off of it, he needs to just take it to the net and, if nothing else, draw a penalty or take a defender into the net.

I also don't care about prima donnas if it means the Canucks are scoring and winning.

Meds wrote:I don't think he should be "gifted" the spot, at least not permanently. Just slotted in there and told he has to keep it now. I don't think it is a lack of enthusiasm that we see from him in the bottom six. He has be absolutely shit defensively, but not for lack of effort, I think it is a lack of focus and that he naturally think offense first. But again, if a guy is so bad at it, why put him that position? When he does have the puck I see him protecting it and trying to gain the offensive zone. When he does he is often being hounded by a player or two and he looks to setup a line mate. Unfortunately most of this team has been Sedinerized and everyone plays along the wall to support the short cycle and passing game that the top teams have learned to shutdown. It's the reason why so many of Kassian's passes become turnovers, and I'll be honest, I don't mind it at all. I would rather watch this team try and create scoring chances versus seeing the puck get thrown around the boards for 2 minutes and nothing get to the net. What Kassian needs to figure out is that when he is the guy on the line that is the best option for carrying the puck without getting knocked off of it, he needs to just take it to the net and, if nothing else, draw a penalty or take a defender into the net.

I also don't care about prima donnas if it means the Canucks are scoring and winning.

Sedinerized!! Neat term. For any fan who's been watching the Canucks for awhile, they would have to agree, that there is distinctive pattern/theme that unfolds when the Canucks (Sedins) are in the offensive zone - it's predictable. When or if they finally do make it away from cycling along the boards and get near the net, it's often (not always), the case where the puck is just stroked towards the net or a soft pass that results in the goalie having an easy save, or the defenseman heading up ice in the other direction with the puck. Seems like such a let down after all that fuckin work.

I dunno, maybe having someone like Kass perch himself for a pre-set 'whack-fuck' in front of the net might do the trick?? Kinda like the role that Propp used to play with the Flyers way back in the day. Just an idea...and really, it's not a bad one.

The Brown Knight wrote:I don't agree with Blob's assessment on Burrows at all.

Burrows hasn't been scoring, but he's been getting tons of good scoring opportunities. Simply put - he's just snake-bit right now. Let's see where he's at in 4-6 weeks. For right now however, it's just a bad slump.

Despite that however, Burrows' two-way game is still excellent. He brings so much more to the table than a Kassian or a Booth does.

My line of thought: Lets give Burrows some time to work his way out of the slump. The fact that he consistently gets grade A scoring chances game-in game-out, is an indication to me that he'll break out of his slump sooner than later (along with the fact that he's already playing a solid two-way game).

Scoring chances go to die on his stick. He isn't snakebit, the crows and the racoons have had their way with him too. 4- 6 more weeks which is probably 18 more games puts him at the 35 game mark. So maybe he'll have 6 assists by then and be a -14.

His two way game has morphed into a 1 way game. It says something about how good his linemates are that they can still put up points while carrying a 200 pound biter around on their backs.

The Brown Knight wrote:p.s.___________Burrows was not afraid to throw punches with Kessel. What the hell were you watching? Burrows easily took him down and could've done a number on him had it not been for the refs intervening.

p.p.s._________Don't knock him for being 32 years old.......as that's hitting a little too close to home there bud.

##BrownKnight33NextMonth

Burrows flipped him onto the ice. It is a tactic among players who do not want to throw punches. It's a filthy play because the guy you're fighting could end up with a busted shoulder , cracked skull etc. At least there is a little bit of consent when you drop the gloves that you might throw punches at one another. Guys don't expect to get piledrived or flipped onto the ice in a fight. Kesler pulled the same cheap move against Andrew Ladd a few years ago when Ladd punched him in the eye. Ben Eager did something similar to Bieksa in a line brawl.

Blob Mckenzie wrote: Scoring chances go to die on his stick. He isn't snakebit, the crows and the racoons have had their way with him too. 4- 6 more weeks which is probably 18 more games puts him at the 35 game mark. So maybe he'll have 6 assists by then and be a -14.

His two way game has morphed into a 1 way game. It says something about how good his linemates are that they can still put up points while carrying a 200 pound biter around on their backs.

Given Burrows' track record, I think he's earned the right to play himself out of his funk. Again - the good habits are still there. From what I see, I don't think he's really morphed into a 1-way player. +/-'s don't tell the entire story.

How quickly people seem to forget that he scored some of our biggest clutch goals in franchise history.........which wasn't all that long ago.

He came off an injury as well and missed some time.

Personally, I think it's crazy that people on here are putting him in the same category as Booth/Kassian (although Booth seems to be finally stepping out of it.....???)

Gillis has done a good job re-signing guys, but the Burrows contract was a mistake IMO. I've said it before, but the wide open chances he is failing to score on are beer league bad.

Frankly we don't need him to kill penalties or play an "elite" two-way game. We need him to score goals, which he is failing miserably at right now. The game Burrows is playing right now could have been replaced in free agency at $1-2M IMO.

Blob Mckenzie wrote:Kesler pulled the same cheap move against Andrew Ladd a few years ago when Ladd punched him in the eye. Ben Eager did something similar to Bieksa in a line brawl.

In fairness, Ladd would have kicked the shit out of Kesler if he'd stood there and traded punches - he has no business fighting a player like Ladd (he couldn't even beat Sam Gagner a year or so before that) and probably never would have if Ladd hadn't elbowed him in the head..

The Brown Knight wrote:I don't agree with Blob's assessment on Burrows at all.

Burrows hasn't been scoring, but he's been getting tons of good scoring opportunities. Simply put - he's just snake-bit right now. Let's see where he's at in 4-6 weeks. For right now however, it's just a bad slump.

Despite that however, Burrows' two-way game is still excellent. He brings so much more to the table than a Kassian or a Booth does.

My line of thought: Lets give Burrows some time to work his way out of the slump. The fact that he consistently gets grade A scoring chances game-in game-out, is an indication to me that he'll break out of his slump sooner than later (along with the fact that he's already playing a solid two-way game).

Scoring chances go to die on his stick. He isn't snakebit, the crows and the racoons have had their way with him too. 4- 6 more weeks which is probably 18 more games puts him at the 35 game mark. So maybe he'll have 6 assists by then and be a -14.

His two way game has morphed into a 1 way game. It says something about how good his linemates are that they can still put up points while carrying a 200 pound biter around on their backs.

He is skating through the classic player slump that seem to plague every guy who signs a contract that is inflated partially due to back pay and also due to high expectations. We've seen this time and again after a player signs his big money deal.